Current remote control units for remote control vehicles, such as unmanned areal vehicles or UAVs, use multiple modules—a lightweight handheld remote control unit, and a power and antenna radio link module separate from the handheld remote. Although this approach provides a good signal link between the handheld remote and the remote control vehicle, it is not lightweight or easily portable, as the antenna array requires significant infrastructure and time to set up.
Simply placing the radio transmitter/receiver in the handheld remote is not sufficient because RF link quality can suffer. A traditional RF antenna extending from the housing of the handheld remote control would be easy to break. A robust external RF antenna sacrifices link quality and incurs weight in a handheld unit. Putting an antenna within the housing of the remote provides a robust solution, but the antenna would be small and less efficient, so it would compromise link quality.
What is needed is an easy to use, portable, and robust handheld remote control and antenna for remotely controlling vehicles. Furthermore, what is needed is a lightweight handheld remote control that does not sacrifice RF link quality.